The Magicless Magician- Year One
by ChosenChild
Summary: Kuroba Kaito was an ideal candidate for Slytherin. His parents were powerful, pureblood wizards. He was clever, mischievous, and practically guaranteed a spot at Hogwarts. He was an ideal candidate for Slytherin, except for one thing… Kaito was a squib. Kuroba Kaito, Kudo Shinichi, Hakuba Saguru, and Hattori Heiji in their first year of Hogwarts.
1. The Sorting

Kuroba Kaito was an ideal candidate for Slytherin. His parents were powerful, pureblood wizards. His mother, the Phantom Lady, had been a dark wizard until she changed sides and began working as an Auror (with Nakamori who was part-partner, part-parole officer to her). His father invented spells and curses. He was world renown for creating spells that were previously believed impossible to cast, and heralded as one of the great wizards of their time. Kaito himself was clever, mischievous, and practically guaranteed a spot at Hogwarts. He was an ideal candidate for Slytherin, except for one thing…

Kaito was a squib.

Kaito had known that there was something everyone expected him to be able to do when he was a child. He knew that they were waiting for his magic to appear, but it never did. Kaito knew that his parents were disappointed every time they were asked what the first sign of his magic was (the way Muggles asked what a child's first words were). That was why the four-year-old decided to trick his parents.

He knew that Muggles could make it _look_ like they had magic. He'd seen it on Aoko's TV (Aoko's mom was Muggle-born). So the next time he stayed with Aoko's family he used the inter-web (always keeping an eye out for spiders, no matter how much Aoko laughed at him for it) to look up how they did it. He practiced for hours, for days. Then, the next time his mom looked upset, he skipped up to her and said, "Smile, Mommy! You look prettiest when you smile!" Then he produced a rose out of thin air. (Or that's how it looked when his nimble fingers tugged the rose out of his sleeve.)

His parents couldn't have been prouder. Who would have thought their son was conjuring at such a young age! Any guilt Kaito might have felt vanished when his parents boasted about him. _It was just until his magic showed up._ His four-year-old mind reasoned whenever he learned a new trick. This way his parents wouldn't have to be embarrassed while he waited.

Now at eleven-years-old, he was still waiting.

 _No, that was wrong._ He thought as the first of his peers walked up to the tattered hat on shaking legs. He'd given up hope a long time ago. Now he could only pray he'd be able to keep up the charade. Kaito had looked up the entire lesson plan for all his classes and devised all of the tricks he'd need to create the illusion he had magic… But would the Sorting Hat even give him that chance? Kaito swallowed as the hat called out "Hufflepuff!" Would the Hat out him the instant it touched his head? Or would it just sit there until someone realized something was very wrong?

"What do you think you'll get?" Aoko whispered. Kaito rolled his eyes, showing none of his internal turmoil. Kaito had become unusually good at masking his emotions growing up.

"Obviously Slytherin." Kaito boasted. "My parents say it's the best house."

"As if." Hakuba scoffed beside him.

"You just say that because they'd never let _you_ in." Kaito shot back. He felt immediately guilty when he saw the flash of hurt that accompanied the other boy's glare. It wasn't Hakuba's fault that his dad was a Muggle. It didn't make him any less of a wizard and he always defended Muggles (and sometimes squibs) to people to talked badly about them, which Kaito appreciated more than he could ever say. Kaito liked Hakuba, even if he was annoying more often than not. "Even if they did let you in, you'd end up in Ravenclaw anyway." Kaito added, trying to make his tone insulting. Hakuba accepted it for the peace offering it was with a huff and a nod of the head. "And Aoko is bound to be in Gryffindor." Aoko positively beamed. "It's where all the loud tomboys go."

Aoko was lucky that a red headed boy had just been sorted into Gryffindor, because the cheers covered her angry shriek of "JerKaito!" She blushed red as the cheering died down and the next person was called to be sorted. "That wasn't funny." She hissed at Kaito. He just smirked at her. Hakuba was too much of a gentleman to smirk or roll his eyes, so he just gave them a look of exasperated fondness and returned his gaze to the front of the hall.

Aoko decided that ignoring Kaito was the best option (though it was a bad idea in the long term) and started talking to the boy next to her. Kaito proceeded to look at the Sorting Hat and descended back into his spiraling pattern of terror and self-loathing. Hakuba was stealing glances at him.

"Are you alright?" He inquired. Kaito blinked as the Hat called out "Hufflepuff!"

"Why would you ask that?" He gave Hakuba a funny look. Hakuba shrugged.

"You've got that freaky smile that's not a smile on your face and-" Hakuba cut himself off from saying _you haven't pranked me since we got off the train_. "You just seem stressed."

"I'm fine." Kaito answered shortly, imagining being sent home. Maybe he could stay with Aoko's family so he wouldn't have to face his parents. Nah, it's the first place they'd look… Hakuba's frown deepened. He opened his mouth.

"Hakuba, Saguru!" It was his turn to be sorted. Kaito grinned at him.

"Go on, Ravenclaw." He nudged him forward. Hakuba rewarded him with a glare.

"This isn't over." He promised. Kaito rolled his eyes and watched Hakuba vanish under the too large hat. Would Hakuba miss him when he was sent home? He'd probably be relieved.

Hakuba was sitting there for a long time. Kaito was actually starting to feel concerned when the tear opened wide and declared "Hufflepuff!" Kaito literally fell over. Aoko gaped and Hakuba's shocked eyes emerged from under the Hat.

"That thing must be defective!" Kaito hissed at Aoko as Hakuba began his slow walk to the Hufflepuff table. Aoko nodded numbly as Hakuba took a seat. Hakuba met their gaze for just an instant as a dark skinned boy named "Hattori, Heiji" charged at the Hat. The shock of Hakuba's house had driven Kaito's worries to the back of his mind for the moment. Their whole friendship Kaito had known two things about Hakuba. That he always knew what time it was down to the millisecond, and that Hakuba was _almost_ as smart as he was. How had he ended up in Hufflepuff? Kaito dredged up his knowledge of Hufflepuff as Hattori was sorted into Gryffindor. Hufflepuff was known as two things: suckers (which didn't fit Hakuba since Kaito was the only one who could make a fool out of him) and loyalty. Kaito didn't understand.

He was so involved in his own thoughts that he didn't realize that the hall had fallen silent until Aoko whispered "She's beautiful." Kaito glanced up to see a red headed girl approach the Sorting Hat like she was a model. Kaito glanced around, all eyes were glued to the girl. Kaito took another look at her.

"She's not anything special." Kaito scoffed. Aoko hit him. The other girl turned her head, and her red eyes sought out Kaito's before they disappeared under the Hat.

"Slytherin!" The Hat called an instant later. The Slytherin table erupted in applause.

"You're so lucky!" Aoko shook Kaito's arm. The girl's eyes moved to Kaito again as she went to the table, but Kaito actively avoided them.

 _Creepy_. He thought with a shudder as she sat down.

"Kudo, Shinichi!" A boy with too sharp eyes and overly neat hair walked up to the stool where he inspected the Hat before he allowed it to be placed on his head. "Ravenclaw!" The hat declared after a moment. Kudo walked over to the Ravenclaw table, though he was stopped by the new Gryffindor Hattori. With a roll of his eyes, Kudo took the seat at the Ravenclaw table across the aisle from him.

Then it was time. "Kuroba, Kaito!" Aoko patted his arm in support. Kaito slowly approached the Hat. This was it. The moment that he would continue his lie of a life or be disgraced in front of virtually every witch and wizard under 18 in the country. Kaito sat on the stool, his body trembling, and the brim of the hat slipped over his eyes.

"Well, well," A small voice murmured. "What a clever, deceptive boy. I've never sorted someone like you before." Kaito's fingers tightened on the stool. "You'd do well in Slytherin, but it will be difficult for you there…" Kaito almost wilted in relief. The Hat would sort him. "Perhaps Ravenclaw would be better." The Hat mused. "Less prejudice. It would be easier for you…" Kaito got indignant. He wasn't to be underestimated. Even if he was a squib! "Ooo, a fighter." The Hat sounded delighted. "Very well then. Slytherin!" It called out. Kaito was practically beaming as the hat was lifted from his head. He was in! Kaito hurried to take a seat near where he could keep an eye on Hakuba at the next table. Hakuba glanced at him with an odd combination of relief and disappointment (Kaito knew he didn't fully approve of Slytherin) before turning his eyes back to the next person being sorted. Aoko was predictably placed in Gryffindor (Kaito cheered wildly despite the odd looks given to him by his fellow Slytherins). After dinner, and a hurried goodbye to Aoko and Hakuba, Kaito followed the Slytherin prefect down to where he would be living the foreseeable future. The Slytherin dorms were a bit cold for his tastes and he _would not_ be spending much time in the common room with those windows that opened on the bottom of the lake (who knew what finned monsters might swim by) but his own room, though shared with three others, was decent, and had curtains around each bed for a modicum of privacy.

That night he went to sleep knowing that, as far as the rest of the world knew, he was a wizard.

* * *

 **So, this happened when AcierGlace posted chapter 36 of One Percent Inspiration, Ninety-Nine Percent Perspiration and we started talking. (We talked on AO3, but I think it's on too.)**

 **I'm still playing with what to do with KID (though we'll see if this is continued). I have a pretty good idea for KID (that is very much based on AcierGlace's story), and I think it will be in the next chapter, if I write it. My only issue with it is that it's a pretty involved plot.**

 **As for Hakuba's house I seriously debated putting him in Ravenclaw, but I kinda wanted each of the boys to be in a different house. And out of the boys I think Hakuba's loyalty was a strong character trait (with the exception of Hattori). Then I read this "Hufflepuff values hard work, patience, justice, and loyalty." If that doesn't suit Hakuba, what does?**

 **Also, if I do continue this, it will turn Kaito/Shinichi in Year Three or Year Four. (It's not tagged here because in my opinion eleven is too young for more than tiny "crushes" if you know what I mean.) I'm giving you this information because I want to know if you want me to keep writing this.**

 **Seriously, let me know if you want more of this one. I have three chapter fanfics in-progress and I want to know what people want to read.**


	2. Partners

One of Kaito's main focuses when he got to Hogwarts was finding a place to practice _his_ brand of magic. It had to be some place out of the way, where he wouldn't be disturbed. Kaito wandered the halls becoming familiar with the changing structure. He found a few secluded spots, but nothing that was large or secure enough to practice large-scale illusions that he would need to work on as the lessons became more complicated.

Really, it was the portraits that were the problem. They were quite literally _everywhere_ in the school. Kaito knew better than most just how sentient those painted images could be. Aoko's mother was an artist and had shown him and Aoko how the paintings came to life and created their own thoughts and feelings based on vague memories of the people they represented (or sometimes not so vague depending on what the artist knew of the subject or their personal opinion of them). Aoko's mother had actually donated a fair number of paintings to Hogwarts over the years, Aoko would sometimes drag him on quests to search one of them out. The result was that Kaito was a bit more aware of portraits than most people. He didn't want one learning his secret.

Currently, Kaito had two main places to practice. An isolated tower with only a painting of sleeping men labeled "The Inventing the Sleeping Spell", Kaito had yelled and even created small explosions to see if he could wake them, and a forgotten interior room with only a large painting of the woods, the only sign of life in the painting were deer and birds moving along it's surface. Finding a room without any paintings was proving nearly impossible (they even had them in the _bathrooms_ , which had to count as _some_ kind of invasion of privacy).

He still wasn't comfortable working in a room with these moving images, but at least the occupants wouldn't be telling any tales. It was that or practice in a broom closet, which seemed like the only way he'd get any _real_ privacy. The thought made Kaito scowl as he worked on perfecting his trick for levitating in Charms. He lost his concentration and the cup he was practicing with dangled obviously from one of the invisible wires. _Fantastic_ , Kaito was reaching to adjust the cup when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped towards the painting, but the only thing he saw was a deer grazing in the woods. Kaito could have sworn he saw a flash of white among the trees. Kaito frowned and walked over to the painting. It wasn't the first time he'd thought that there had been something white moving just beyond his field of vision. But what-?

An unseen clock chimed faintly in another room. Right. Transfiguration…

* * *

Slytherins had Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. Kaito preferred classes with Hufflepuff (where he could bully Hakuba into being his partner) or Gryffindor (where Aoko claimed him as a partner and shouted down anyone who might argue). It wasn't that he didn't like his fellow Slytherins. It was more that Kaito didn't, couldn't, make friends easily. He couldn't ignore his feeling that someone would learn his secret if they got too close. Aoko was his friend simply because she'd always been there (back when Kaito thought he was just waiting for his magic to show). Hakuba was his friend out of some strange combination of competitiveness and persistence.

Kaito was friendly enough with everyone (and Slytherin prefect, Ruby, had taken a liking to him), but he had one real problem. That problem was Akako Koizumi, the girl that everyone seemed to adore. Everyone except Kaito, that is. Kaito remained firm in his classification of Akako as _creepy_. And she didn't like that. She didn't like that _at all_. She seemed to have made it her mission to force Kaito to love her as much as everyone else did. So far this consisted of spending (way too much) time with him. That was why today was important. Today they were picking their partners for the rest of the semester, and Kaito was as determined to avoid being Akako's partner as she was to have him.

Kaito had already begun his planning. His target would have to be in Ravenclaw, all of the Slytherins knew what Akako wanted and wouldn't dream of denying her. Kaito's eyes swept the gathered students. What he needed was someone who wouldn't realize what he was. A tricky proposition since Ravenclaw housed some of the smartest students in Hogwarts (it couldn't have the smartest since he and Hakuba were in different Houses). A girl would probably be the best option. He'd just "conjure" a rose and ask to be partners.

"Hello class," Kaito glanced up at Professor Kobayashi. "Before we pick partners, we are going to have a pop quiz." The class groaned as one.

"Now, now," She chided them. "It's something you've all studied. I just want you to change matches to needles." Kaito wasn't too surprised, he had plenty of needles hidden in his clothing whenever he went to Transfiguration.

One by one, the students preformed the spell for Kobayashi. When it was Kaito's turn he adopted the same expression of intense concentration that the others had. Kaito flicked his wand and uttered the spell perfectly. If Kaito had even an ounce of magic in him the match would have transformed into a sharp silver needle. Instead Kaito switched the match and needle with a twitch of his thumb.

Kaito looked up as the class took up a polite applause as it had after every passed student. Kaito noticed something out of place. A Ravenclaw was staring at him in a way that Kaito could only describe as perplexed. Kaito tried to ignore him as he returned to his seat. The Ravenclaw looked away when he realized he was staring, but as the quizzes continued Kaito stole glances at the boy, trying to work out what he'd seen. He only realized that the other eleven year old was doing the same thing when he looked over to find the Ravenclaw was already gazing at him. They broke the unexpected eye contact awkwardly.

Then Kaito realized that he'd been so preoccupied he'd missed the teacher telling them to partner up. His eyes scanned the room people were gravitating towards their friends and Akako was headed straight for him! Kaito jumped on his chair to see who was left. Everyone seemed to be moving towards someone else except the boy who'd been looking at him oddly, and a cute blushing Ravenclaw girl was making her way towards him! Kaito glanced around. It was him or Akako. Kaito jumped from the chair and beat the Ravenclaw girl to the other boy.

"Kaito Kuroba!" He introduced himself with a hopefully winning grin. "Wanna be partners?" His potential partner blinked at him.

"Wouldn't you rather work with someone from your own house?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can hang out with them any time." Kaito rolled his eyes. "Why would they have different houses take classes together if they just wanted us to work with the same people as always?" The other boy smirked. Kaito saw Akako quicken her pace out of the corner of his eye.

"Shinichi Kudo," Shinichi offered his hand and Kaito seized it like a lifeline. Akako stopped and glared at the pair. Kaito resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her.

"Good to meet you!" Kaito beamed Shinichi appeared to be fighting an amused expression.

"Well, Kuroba," He pulled his hand away. "One of us has to turn a spider into a necklace and the other has to turn it back. And we have to write a paper on turning an inanimate object animate by the end of the week. Where do you want to start?"

* * *

Kaito was working on his spider to necklace trick in the tower with the portrait of the sleeping men. "I can see you make the switch from this angle." Kaito jumped violently, dropping the necklace and letting the spider escape. He whirled around to find a man in a white suit, top hat, and cape grinning at him from the frame while the occupants snoozed in the background. Kaito's heart just about stopped. He took a step back.

The man saw the expression on his face. "Hey, don't worry." He raised his hands. "I'm not going to say anything. I have an offer for you."

"I'm not sure what you are thinking." Kaito began, his cheerful mask sliding into place as his mind raced for an explanation. "But I have this bet with my friend, and I just thought of a clever way to cheat, and you're not buying any of this are you?"

"Nope," the man continued to survey Kaito with an amused almost fond expression. "You might have been able to fool me if I had just stumbled on you, but-"

"You've been stalking me for days." Kaito scowled.

"Stalking is such a harsh word." The painting put a hand over his heart as though wounded. "I prefer the term _observing_."

"It amounts to the same thing." Kaito retorted.

"Perhaps." The man waved his hand dismissively. "As I said, I have an offer for you."

"What _kind_ of offer?" Kaito asked, suspiciously. It sounded more like an introduction to blackmail.

"Follow me." The man gestured out of the room, and Kaito followed him, frame by frame along the hall. Somewhere on the fourth floor, the man turned and waited for Kaito. "Press here." He indicated a spot on the painting. Kaito hesitated then reached out.

…And immediately fell through the hidden door as the painting spun in place.

Kaito jumped up. His mouth dropped open. It was a hidden room or rooms if the doorless arch on the other side of the room was any indication. The entire place was dusty and gently illuminated by a small window. There were bottles on shelves lining the walls. A large worktable sat in the center of the room with a toolbox sitting under it.

"Well?" Kaito turned to gape at the man in the painting where he'd come in. "What do you think?" The man stepped out of the frame on to the wall, and then Kaito realized that the entire workshop was a massive mural, allowing the painting free movement.

"It's… perfect." He said. "But why?" The man grinned.

"You're smart. You've got a big secret. And I like you." He answered. "I'm stuck in paintings on walls. I need a partner, and I think that you'll do nicely."

"A partner?" Kaito's eyes narrowed. "A partner for what?" The man grinned.

"I'm stuck in the paintings, you're not." He said simply. "I'd just like a hand with some things I can't touch."

"Is that all?" Kaito blinked. It made sense. The painting couldn't clean the room, or get anything thing he needed.

"That's all." The man's grin widened. "You can use the room anytime you want. As long as you don't mind the occasional audience. You're interesting. I'd like to watch you work sometimes."

"That's fine." Kaito nodded, his mind already whirring with ideas for the space. "I'm Kaito Kuroba, by the way."

The man's smile grew even more if possible, he threw back his cape and bowed formally. "KID, Phant- acquisitions specialist." He glanced up. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

* * *

 **Well, those of you who read AcierGlace 's chapter 36 of One Percent Inspiration, Ninety-Nine Percent Perspiration that sparked this will see the blatant inspiration.**

 **And muggle95 asked me a question that I've been waiting for someone to call me on. "How did Kaito get into Hogwarts without magic? Isn't there a magic sensing registration?"**

 **My answer!**

 **My sources say that "A magical quill at Hogwarts detects the birth of magical children and writes their names into a large parchment book. Every year, a teacher checks this book and sends a letter to the children who are turning eleven."**

 **My reasoning is that Kaito was born in Japan, so everyone assumes that his name was recorded there for the Japanese school, Mahoutokoro, but he was traveling with his parents who (with Kaito's prodding) decided that he should go to Hogwarts with Aoko (Aoko's mother went to Hogwarts and is insistent that her daughter attends Hogwarts because of reasons that will be explained in chapter 3, though they aren't strictly canon, I thought it would be interesting.) Aoko's name is not recorded in the Hogwarts registery either, but she is clearly magical. I think that if the parents could provide proof of magic (and Kaito was running around conjuring roses at the time), they would be accepted to Hogwarts.** **I suggest that you read this little blurb about Mahoutokoro, I have (too many) ideas related to it. (Some of which may never happen, but we shall see.)** **writing-by-jk-rowling/mahoutokoro**


	3. Muggle-born

Kaito didn't realize that Shinichi was Japanese until two weeks after they became partners. They were in the library trying to track down an academic source for something they both thought was obvious but apparently had to be cited anyway. Kaito looked over Shinichi's shoulder while he was grabbing another book and saw all his notes were in kanji. He blinked.

"Wait, why are your notes in Japanese?" He asked, leaning closer to inspect the writing.

"Huh?" Shinichi glanced up. "Oh, no. I just think better when I write in Japanese. I'll magic it into English later." He'd returned to flipping through the book in his hand mid sentence. Kaito could help being surprised.

"I didn't know you spoke Japanese."

"Well, I am _from_ Japan." Shinichi shrugged, still more focused on the text than Kaito. "It would be weirder if I couldn't."

"You're from Japan?" Kaito repeated in confusion. "Then why aren't you going to Mahoutokoro?" Shinichi blinked as Kaito's question finally got his full attention. He looked at his partner, his mouth falling open in a silent 'o'.

"Um," Shinichi rubbed the back of his head and looked away. "Mahoutokoro doesn't accept Muggle-borns." He answered. "Not unless they're being raised by a wizard family, anyway."

"Oh, yeah." Kaito nodded. He'd actually know that. Aoko's mom hadn't been allowed in either. Kaito opened his own book and started skimming the index. He didn't notice Shinichi watching him, then nod, satisfied that Kaito's revelation that he'd been working with a Mudblood wouldn't affect their partnership. Something occurred to Kaito as he flipped to the page he was looking for.

"Hang on, how'd you even find out about Hogwarts? Japan's not included in its registry. Most Japanese Muggle-borns just go through life never knowing about magic at all." Though Kaito had never heard the whole story about how Aoko's mom found out about magic and wizardry in the first place, he knew that it involved his father being expelled from Mahoutokoro and both he and Aoko's mom attending Hogwarts.

"My neighbor, Agasa-hakase- Professor Agasa realized what I was." Shinichi responded. "He used to teach here, so he pulled some strings." He leveled his sharp gaze at Kaito. "What about you? Kuroba is a Japanese name, and I've seen you reach for your shoes then stop when you come in from the grounds. It's instinctive. Suggesting that you grew up in a place where it is customary to change shoes when coming inside." Shinichi paused. "I suppose you could have just grown up in a Japanese household, but I don't think you'd take your shoes off coming into a castle like this if you grew up only taking off your shoes when you got home. So you probably were raised in Japan."

Kaito was staring at him, mouth ajar. Shinichi smirked back. Kaito blinked. "That was quite clever." He commented, honestly impressed.

"I'm pretty good at deductions." Shinichi boasted. "Sherlock Holmes is a personal hero, _and_ I've had a lot of," Shinichi hesitated. "Experience, for someone my age." He seemed almost embarrassed, though Kaito couldn't understand why. "So, why are you here instead of Mahoutokoro?"

"How do you know I'm not Muggle-born too?" He teased. Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"You're in Slytherin." He said flatly. "While I suppose it is possible for a Muggle-born to end up there, you're accepted by your peers, so I doubt it." Kaito tried not to think about just how strongly he'd be rejected by his housemates if they knew what he really was and directed his energy at beaming at Shinichi.

"Correct." He lounged in his chair. "Actually, Aoko's mom is a Muggle-born too. So she wouldn't let Aoko go to Mahoutokoro on moral grounds. Since Aoko's parents are kinda like my unofficial godparents it was pretty easy to convince Mom and Dad to let me come here with her." _Plus, Dad still kinda resents them for kicking him out._ Kaito thought privately. His dad had never said anything, but he certainly hadn't fought to get Kaito a place at Mahoutokoro.

"I see," Shinichi glanced back at their work. "I thought you might have been another Mahoutokoro reject." Kaito felt his stomach drop. What did he mean by that? Did he know? Was he about to get kicked out of Hogwarts? What would he tell his parents? Kaito realized that Shinichi had continued talking. He forced himself to listen. "I thought we could form a club." Shinichi finished with a sly grin at Kaito to make it clear he was joking. Kaito cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry." His voice sounded too natural to his panic stricken mind. "What did you say?"

Shinichi frowned. "I was just saying that if Mahoutokoro didn't want you, then you , me, and Hattori could form a club. It would certainly show them what they missed out on." Kaito stared at Shinichi. What?

"Who's Hattori?" He asked blankly.

"Depends who you ask." Shinichi rolled his eyes. "If you ask him, he'll either say he's my best friend or my rival."

"I'm asking you though." Kaito smirked falling back into the swing of the conversation. That had been scary. He thought for sure that Shinichi had figured him out.

"Well, I'd say that Hattori is a rash, competitive loud mouth with a surprisingly sharp brain for such a hot head." Kaito could sense, more than hear, the undercurrent of fondness in Shinichi's words.

"And," Kaito prompted him, trying to contain his grin. Shinichi crossed his arms and gave him a stubborn glare.

"And what?"

"Say something nice." Kaito smirked. Shinichi opened his mouth, probably to hotly refuse, then he seemed to realize that they weren't going to get any more work done until he said something. Shinichi huffed.

"And I'm lucky that Mahoutokoro kicked him out for accusing the headmaster of murder." He admitted sullenly. "Can we get back to work now?" Kaito wanted to laugh at the embarrassment he was causing the other boy.

Wait, what? Kaito mentally reviewed what Shinichi had just said and gawked at him. What kind of guy was Hattori?!

* * *

Saguru barely jumped as there was an explosion of smoke around him. He glanced down with some trepidation. The only thing that had changed about his attire was his Hufflepuff scarf, which had been replaced with a Slytherin one. Kaito must have been in a good mood with him. He looked around for the trickster, only to feel something irritatingly familiar shift on his head.

"Kuroba, please change my hair back." He said flatly. He could tell from (unfortunate) experience that it was long and held up, probably by bows. There was a disembodied cackle and Saguru felt his hair revert to normal in a puff of smoke. Kaito appeared beside him so suddenly Saguru would have sworn he apperated, except that he knew Kaito couldn't be that far ahead… or apperated on Hogwarts grounds…

"It's too bad you don't grow your hair out, you look good in pigtails." He smirked. They always thought he actually made the hair grow. Kaito only "turned it back" so that they wouldn't notice that it was actually a wig. "Guess what." Saguru eyed him.

"You stole chocolate from that third year Aoko likes." He deduced.

"What? No!" Well, yes, but that wasn't what he was going for. "I met another detective." Kaito put his hands behind his head. "He seems _really_ clever too." Hakuba had always fancied himself a detective. His idol was Sherlock Holmes and his hobby was reading his father's files of Muggle cold cases. He'd solved a few murders on his own and had pointed out leads that resulted in closing the case on others.

"So you either met Kudo or Hattori." Saguru commented. "Wait, you said he seems clever so it must be Kudo. Right?"

"Oh, you already know each other?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. He was getting curious about this Hattori guy. Hakuba didn't seem to like him.

"Kudo and I are partners in a few classes. He's a great conversationalist." The corner of Saguru's mouth turned up slightly. It was rare to find someone as interested in Sherlock as he was. Ad since Shinichi was raised by Muggles he'd never been exposed to the wizard adaptations. Shinichi's excitement was infections. Reading the books at the same time as him made Saguru feel like he was reading them for the first time too. What's more, he was a truly impressive detective who didn't shy away from the cold case files that his father periodically sent by owl.

"You like him?" Kaito mused aloud. "Then there _must_ be something wrong with him." Saguru gave him a flat look.

"Clearly you don't dislike him, since you weren't complaining about him." Saguru admonished him. "And in answer to your first comment, Kudo is an excellent detective." Saguru made a face. "Unlike Hattori." Kaito's eyes lit up. Saguru was instantly wary.

"Kuroba, what are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing." He beamed at Saguru, entirely too innocently. "Well, I'm off!" He darted away. Saguru sighed and pulled out his wand. He tapped the Slytherin scarf, turning it into Hufflepuff colors and resolved to keep a close eye on his friend before he got himself expelled. Saguru continued on his way, unaware his hair was now green.


	4. First Crime

**Author's Notes: Well... It needed to be a gradual evolution.**

 **Not sure how I'm feeling about this... But I needed to update to get to the stuff that I'm more interested in.**

* * *

Kaito was resting his head on the table in KID's secret rooms. KID snickered. "Hakuba's still mad at you?" He asked teasingly.

"It's not my fault!" Kaito snapped. "The hot head got lucky!" When Kaito had set up a deduction game between the three detectives he had thought it would really be a competition between Shinichi and Hakuba. He'd never expected Shinichi and Hattori to tie, leaving Hakuba as a distant third. And now Hattori wouldn't stop rubbing it in Hakuba's face. It was ticking Kaito off, but he was rapidly running out of opportunities to prank the Gryffindor. The tensions between their houses meant that all of their interactions were closely monitored, and there was only so much that Kaito could do without his secret getting out.

"It kind of is your fault." KID said. Kaito's head snapped up and he glared at the painting. KID lifted his hands. "Hear me out." He protested. "I saw your plans."

"You helped me with the plans." Kaito cut him off accusingly. KID shrugged dismissive.

"Those plans, whether, you- we realized it or not, were geared to Hakuba's detective style." KID continued. "The affects of Aoko's ice spell needed more time to dissipate. You knew that Hakuba would spend that time securing the scene, making sure all of the physical evidence wasn't tainted. Hattori, on the other hand, rushed in, which let him feel how cold it was in the room, which gave him the crucial edge over Hakuba." Kaito stared at the painting. He... was right... How had Kaito overlooked this? Then his face fell into a scowl.

"Well, as nice as it is to know exactly what went wrong, that doesn't really help me figure out how to fix it." He growled, lowering his chin on to the table.

"Doesn't it?" KID's monocle gleamed. Kaito tilted his head to indicate he was listening but did not move from the table. "After all, if you know Hakuba's style well enough to fool him... You know it well enough to create a scenario that give him the edge." Kaito scoffed.

"I highly doubt that Hakuba would agree to another deduction game." He reminded KID scornfully. "Even if he did, it's not like he wouldn't realize I was tipping the scales in his favor. He's not exactly stupid."

"Then don't make it a game." KID insisted. Kaito sat up, eyeing KID warily.

"What do you mean?" He asked. It almost sounded as if...

"Just listen," KID said. Kaito got the feeling he would have moved toward him if he weren't trapped on the wall. As it was the white clad man prowled around the perimeter of the room. "If someone started stealing things, those three detectives are bound to investigate." Kaito choked. Stealing? Like a common thief? KID noticed Kaito's reaction. He stepped towards the boy as best he could. "Please, just let me finish." Kaito swallowed. There was a certain note in KID's voice. Almost pleading, but KID had never show much emotion before. The strange emotion in the tone was enough to keep Kaito listening. "You know what Hakuba would look for, and now that you've seen Hattori's style, you know his weaknesses too. So just commit a crime that you know Hakuba can solve."

"And get myself expelled? That would be rich, making it in as a squib only to be kicked out for theft!" Kaito laughed shortly. KID shook his head with exasperation.

"Obviously don't let yourself get caught." He insisted. "Just make sure that Hakuba can deduce the location of the stolen items." Kaito shook his head.

"I don't know why I'm even listening to you." He snapped. "You're just a painting!" With that Kaito got up and stormed out of the room.

Despite Kaito's initial aversion to the idea. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Especially not with Hakuba speaking to him so curtly during their Herbology class. He didn't even react when Kaito pranked him anymore. Then when he heard Hattori loudly bragging during Potions, again, he turned to Aoko. "What does it take to get him to shut up?" Kaito hissed. Pranks hadn't been working. Hattori either laughed at them with everyone else, or instantly retaliated against Kaito, leaving Kaito worried about his lack of magic being exposed if he couldn't react in certain ways with whatever stage magic supplies he happened to be carrying. Aoko shrugged.

"He's not so bad... except for when he's talking about Saguru..." She defended him half-heartedly.

It wasn't until Kaito overheard Hattori loudly insulting Hakuba to Shinichi in Hakuba's hearing that Kaito resolved to use KID's plan. It didn't matter that Shinichi defended Hakuba. What mattered was that other Gryffindors were snickering while Hufflepuffs looked away or glared. What mattered was that Hakuba could do no more than glower while Shinichi tried to ignore his self-declared 'best friend' after his defense of Hakuba fell on deaf ears, only to forgive him with an exasperated eye roll when the other boy offered the Ravenclaw a backhanded compliment. What mattered was that Hakuba needed another chance to prove himself, Hattori needed to be taken down a few pegs, and Kaito needed to make that happen.

KID smiled as Kaito walked slowly towards his portrait. Kaito hesitated. "What did you have in mind?" He asked. KID's grin widened, and he welcomed Kaito with a bow as Kaito pushed through the spinning portrait into the secret rooms.

* * *

It started small. Hattori's favorite hat was among the first things to be stolen. Kaito knew it was petty, but it was just practice. KID helped him. He learned the password for Gryffindor Tower from the Fat Lady, talked Kaito through various contingency plans, and (most important) had helped Kaito to locate a moth eaten invisibility cloak buried in the back of one of KID's secret rooms. Kaito didn't see why he couldn't just steal the hat while Hattori was walking around, but KID insisted that it had to be in the dorm. After all, it wouldn't be a challenge unless he stole it from some place he wasn't supposed to be. It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either. The Fat Lady was a bit tipsy from the wine that KID had anonymously sent from a "secret admirer" (Kaito suspected that KID was also attempting to match-make, since he'd heard him muttering about the Gryffindor Ghost crushing on the Fat Lady so hard, because why else would a ghost use an entrance instead of a wall). When Kaito showed up wearing a Gryffindor scarf, and a wig, the Fat Lady let him in without question. KID had made it clear to Kaito that the invisibility cloak was only to be used in case of emergency, meaning if Aoko showed up, unlikely since he'd picked a time that she was studying with Hakuba. After that, the heist was easy. Kaito didn't even need to use the invisibility cloak. When Kaito saw Hattori the next day he discovered that hatless Hattori was funny... The hot head was going ballistic. Kaito made a mental note to work out how to turn the cap pink once it was eventually returned to him.

Akako's enchanted mirror was a bit of a step up. Even though she was in his house, the mirror was bigger and he had to contend with Akako's legion of fans who seemed almost like some kind of security taskforce to stop Kaito. Kaito wasn't exactly happy when she recruited Hakuba and Kudo (he didn't really care if she got her claws into Hattori), but it worked out well. Since the crime took place in his house he got a good look at how the detectives worked. He thought that they might have been slightly encumbered by Akako's charm, and he wasn't entirely sure how Akako managed to convince the teachers to let them into Slytherin or disable the anti-boy charm on the girls' dorm, but the detectives delivered. Each detective found a few personal items that her fans had "procured" before they located the mirror. Kaito was actually rather proud of how he'd left it where those freaky finned monsters called mermaids (freaking unnatural!) could find it... Without him ever seeing them.

When Melinda March, Gryffindor Prefect (who might have given Kaito and Aoko detention), found her wand had vanished the entire school was talking about it. Hakuba found the wand in a matter of hours, he deduced that Peeves had gotten a hold of it, explaining his sneakier attitude but increase in power. His deduction impressed Melinda (who kissed his cheek), earned fifty points for Hufflepuff and school wide recognition.  
At last Kaito felt ready for his coup de gras. He began to steal gems, swords, anything shiny. Hattori was hot under the collar to solve the thefts. But every time, Hattori's methods were virtually useless. It was only Hakuba's careful examination of the crime scene that yielded any clues. Though Kudo had some very valuable insights as well. Hakuba and Kudo had made Kaito really sweat a few times. Kudo somehow had a knack for deducing his next target and showing up right after Kaito was grabbing the prize (making the escape that much more difficult) or just before to set up traps. He sometimes brought Hakuba or Hattori along with him and if anything they were harder to get away from than Kudo. Kaito needed to use the invisibility cloak on more than one occation, and even that wasn't the best choice since it was so old and somewhat damaged. It only worked in the shadows and Kudo had looked directly at him once. (Kaito was relieved that Hattori had distracted Kudo long enough to move so that he wasn't there when Kudo started poking at the corner he'd been standing in.) The hesit that made KID the proudest was the one that Kaito had taken the lead on. Stealing the Quidditch Cup from Professor Susan Bones, the head of Hufflepuff. The Quidditch Cup disappearing without a trace brought the entire school up in arms.

All eyes were on the three young detectives, though none of the older students or teachers were willing to openly admit such a thing. Hattori went darting off after one of the false leads Kaito had placed. Which also put Kudo out of the way when he realized that Hattori was about to get in over his head (Kaito last saw Kudo darting towards the Forbidden Forest, no doubt cursing at Hattori in his head). That only left Hakuba, who mounted the stairs to one of the highest towers and found exactly what Kaito intended him to find. A griffin, and his hoard of gold, metal, and one very beloved Qudditch trophy. It appeared that a griffin had moved into one of the high towers, and was responsible for a spat of thefts of shiny objects.

Kaito was inordinately pleased. Hakuba was being hailed as the best detective. Shinichi was enjoying his own version of fame for rescuing Hattori from something in the Forbbiden Forest (the rumors ranged from centars to dementors). Hattori was called the bravest detective by most of the school, though that was an insult or a compliment depending on who was saying it. Kaito constantly bragged about the success to KID, who listened fondly with a mysterious smile on his face. Even Hakuba and Kudo were unaware of his involvement, though Kudo did look at him strangely from time to time. He had gotten clean away with it. No one suspected a thing. At least, that's what he thought, until Hakuba dragged him away from the party that was being thrown for Hakuba after the incident with the griffin.

"Enough." He said firmly.

Kaito, who was eager to get back to the festivities snapped at him in confusion. "Enough what?" Hakuba just looked at him meaningfully, until it dawned on Kaito. Oh.

"I know it was you." Hakuba said. "I had my suspicions all along, but now I'm positive." Hakuba crossed his arms and glared at him. But he wasn't angry... He was disappointed. Kaito glared right back.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He mustered all of the indignation he could, which was a lot. He'd done this for Hakuba. No he wasn't expecting a thank you or anything, but acting like he'd done something wrong was just harsh.

Hakuba softened slightly. "Kaito, I'm not go to say anything. But stop." He stressed. "You're better than this." Hakuba shouldered past him and back to the party. Kaito glowered at his back. Jerk.

It didn't even register that Hakuba had used his first name.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Unfortunately, I decided that I didn't have time to write the entire heists and frankly, I was impatient just emthinking/em about writing the competition. I might go back and add the competition. But this is the one I wanted to write.**

 **Taking suggestions for the name of Aoko's mother!**

 **Thanks so much for the reviews!**


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